Category: News

The Scottish Government recently issued CEL 21 (2013). The CEL informs NHS boards and other agencies regarding the coordination of SUDI reviews.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland is advising a Scottish Government SUDI working group about the current processes happening accross Scotland. The group is being informed about the role that professionals currently have when a SUDI occurs and the information we have to date from the SUDI reviews which have taken place. The group is working towards embedding processes into work within NHS Boards and other agemcies.

The group is ongoing.

The SUDI History and Examination form has been produced to enable health professionals to record information gathered from bereaved families and the various professionals involved in the investigation of a SUDI. This form should be available as part of the SUDI pack in the Emergency Department. Guidance on where to source the required information is included in the form.

The information in the form is shared with the paediatric pathologist conducting the post-mortem examination and with the SUDI paediatrician for the health board. The information informs those professionals invited to attend a SUDI review case discussion if this is authorised by the Procurator Fiscal. The data will also be used to enable reporting on SUDI in Scotland, which may identify risk factors and may inform future practice, policy and research.

Local practice will determine who takes responsibility for completing the form. The form should be completed in liaison with other agencies involved in SUDI such as the police and social work. This is to avoid duplication of questioning of the bereaved family. Some of the sections require information most readily available from primary care health professionals and early dialogue between health professionals is desirable to assist information sharing.

There is a lot of information to gather and it is not expected that all will be available immediately. Through sensitive discussion with the family, much of the information will be offered as narrative and can be used to later complete the form if this is preferred to using the form itself. Clinicians should familiarise themselves with the broad topics to ensure that these areas have been covered with the family and other professionals in the immediate response to the infant’s death.

Over the course of six weeks after the death of the infant, the health professional(s) taking responsibility to complete the form can contact the SUDI project team at Healthcare Improvement Scotland for advice and support if they are unfamiliar with the form.

Updated Guidance:

The COPFS Deaths Manual of Practice (Section 16) has been updated. Please click here to access the updated guidance.

The British Association of Perinatal Medicine has published the Sudden Unexpected Postnatal Collapse UK Guidelines in March 2011. Click here to download the guidelines.

On 18th January 2011, Shona Robison MSP; Minister for Public Health and Sport launched the SUDI Scotland toolkit.

The Scottish Government have launched a new Cot Death leaflet. These leaflets will be given to all expectant parents, to inform them of ways to reduce the risks of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI). View these leaflets at http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/175930/0049530.pdf